Mickey

I agree, Fergy was like that but even worse. He would openly chew out a player at the drop of a hat. If that had been Fergy on Sunday, he would have berated Willis for that missed block in front of the whole stadium. Years ago Bobby Chandler told the story of how he had his whole family up from California to watch him play in Buffalo, the first time they had seen him play pro football. He dropped a pass at some point, something that, if you remember Chandler, he virtually never ever did. Fergy was brutal to him right out there on the field in front of everyone. Chandler told him that if he ever did that again he'd deck him. Fergy didn't bother him after that. Fergy could be a real sob but that was part of his toughness and he eventually learned to control it.

I'm no psych major so I am just going off my own experiences as an athlete and coach. Bring them down when they are too high and pick them up when they are too low is a general rule I always used. Some guys are self critical in the extreme and others blame everyone else but themselves. I don't know what kind of guy JP is but watching his post game pc I thought I heard a lot of tension in his voice. Everyone was talking about turnovers costing us the game which to him I am sure sounded like "JP lost us the game" because, after all, he was the one who turned the ball over. Despite the turnovers though, he really threw the ball very, very well under extremely bad weather for throwing the ball. I'd hate for him to lose sight of that because of the city-wide freak out over having lost that game.

I could have imagined it but at the end of that play my Dad and I talked about how it looked like he changed the play at the line. My wife didn't tape it for me as she usually does so I can't be sure.

Even more so when you consider that two of those games were on the road and one was against the dynasty Patriots. Add in that the one home game was played in 20-30 MPH winds and that he plays for a team picked to finish at the bottom or close thereto and those numbers look even better. Yeah, he needs to get better but as is, he is doing just fine. Lots of games yet to play so lets see what happens.

I have tons of respect for Fergy and I am sure JP isn't seeing he field as well as he will in the future as he gains experience both as an NFL starter and with this new offense as well. Even so, the numbers show that JP was moving the ball around pretty good so whatever locking in he did, it wasn't much. That is why he has gone three games with only 1 pick.

You and your facts

My recollection is that JP changed the play at the line on Roscoe's TD. With all due respect to Fergy, buying time to allow a receiver to get free is what good QB's do but we are finding fault even in that. Go figure. I am sure that at his experience level as a player and with this new offense, he probably doesn't see the field as much as he will in the future. I just don't get why people aren't excited as hell about this guy after all the good things he showed on Sunday. You know how cautious and skeptical I have been about him but even I am satisfied with his play. Not despite the Jet game but because of the Jet game. I thought his biggest problem was accuracy, especially missing open receivers too often. He has definitely improved there. Yes, he still struggles a bit on that score but not much. He is getting the ball out quicker and stepping in to the pocket when the edge pressure hits rather than running backwards and everywhich-a-way. I think he needs to work on his decision making when the protection totally breaks down. Especially when he hangs on trying to make a play and then leaves himself no time to throw the ball away. That is going to happen once in awhile and I don't mind that, I am not one who subscribes to the theory that the QB should throw the ball away at the first sign of trouble, Marion style. When that does happen though, he has got to know when there is time to throw it away and when there isn't even time enough to do that and he just has to tuck it in and take the sack. I also think he is a challenge for the coaches to handle in terms of keeping his head on straight. JP is pretty emotional and he really, really, really cares about each and every play. He is the type to really get mad himself over every mistake and that is not good. He needs to keep those emotions in check and focus on the game. This is one where the coaches should probably back off on the criticism and instead concentrate on all the good things he did so he doesn't overreact the way so many fans have. He has worked long and hard to be able to finally throw the ball around the way he was on Sunday and he can't enjoy it because of "the fumble". If they can keep him from getting too uptight, I think he will bounce back with a great game on Sunday.

I disagree on the first one Kelly. Willis had lots of room to run and get out of bounds. There was no one anywhere near him. We were on our own 38 and I think he would have picked up 15 easy and we would have been just over midfield with a minute left and one time out still to use. That was actually a hard pass to throw, getting it over a DL and yet needing it then to drop like a stone after that to get to Willis. A sandwedge to the green over a trap. "Up and down in a hurry." Tough to do with gusts over 20 MPH. The second screen was just baaaaad.

Not to mention it was 4th and 6 from the 12 when he scored. The entire game was on the line on that play and that run of his showed me all I need to know about his determination. He needs plenty of work and experience but he has the tools. The whole team is still closer to a 5-11 squad than an 11-5 squad so we are in for a ride this year. It is starting to look like we finally have the tools though. In all the breast beating, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, Roscoe's bust out game seems to have been lost among the caterwauling. Reed also did some nice work. I'd like to see the tight ends more involved but other than that, I think the WR corps is looking better than it has in years.

Far from bashing JP, I think this the first time I have seen him play and walked away with the feeling that we have got ourselves a QB, finally. Those were terrible conditions and he was throwing the ball on target all day. He was a rocket launcher today. We clean up a few mistakes and get that defense straightened out and we are going to be just fine. I think the defensive collapse in the 4th Q was a lot more worrisome than anything we saw from JP. I really can't believe that I am having to defend a QB who threw for over 300 and took us 77 yards in two minutes, scoring on his own on an impressive 12 yard run. Am I the only one who noticed how determined he was to get that ball in the endzone? Lets not kill this kid's confidence with criticism on a day where he did so many good things.

Actually, he did see it and we had the call to beat that very blitz, what he can't see is the missed block on his blind side. We actually had a chance to burn them on that blitz they way we did on Roscoe's TD and the way they burned us on that long catch and run to the back leading to their first score. Really, you could have had Joe Montana back there or Kelly or anyone else you want to name and had the same result. Now, I suppose that rather than roll out away from the blitz while watching for the WR to get free so he could pull the trigger, he could have stared Willis down to see if the block was made or not and thereby forfeited any chance of making a play even if Willis hit on the block. Jauron said it at the post game, JP did what he is supposed to do on that play.

I see, so JP failed on third down, not the offense, just JP? The Jets were 4 for 12 on third down, I guess they should get ready to bench Chad? I am more concerned with the play calling on 3rd and 4 and similar downs. I don't think we tried Willis on any of those despite our success on the ground. Some of these numbers are misleading. We had one nice drive where we got down to the Jet 35 and then promptly picked up 15 yard in penalties. JP hit Roscoe for 22 on 3rd and 25 so it goes down as a missed third down opportunity but that really wasn't the whole story was it? We went for it on 4th and he hit Reed, exactly where the play was designed to go but he came up just shy of the marker when the LB made a nice play. I think JP was the least of their problems when it came to sustaining drives today.

Looked to me like he ran for his life looking to throw it away and was trying to do just that when he got caught. I guess he could have just taken the sack but at that point it would have made it a 45 yard FG at least and in that wind, I think it would have been a pretty difficult kick. Tough to just take a sack or even throw it away on third down. Besides, the Jets punted after that so at most, all that cost us was an iffy FG attempt. The only turnover that really made a difference was the one caused by Willis missing a block against a blind side blitzer. I guess we should just trade Willis.

Driving back to Syracuse after the game I had to listen to a bunch of hoople heads for 3 hours go on about how bad JP is and how he will never amount to anything and blah, blah, blah. So you see, its all JP's fault apparently.

Amen Kelly, Amen. I think this the best play I have seen from JP since we drafted him. He was firing rockets on target for most of the day despited the conditions. That 77 yard drive was great. Those passes to Willis were tough, there was a DL guy he had to throw over but then he needed the ball to drop and in that wind, he couldn't do it. It like hitting a sand wedge, you need it up and down in a hurry, verrrrry tough shot. Get this, people are bitching not because he couldn't lead a two minute TD drive at the end of the game but because he couldn't lead two TD drives in three minutes. If JP throws the ball that well the rest of the year, we will win a lot of games.

There was also one Price dropped that should have been six.

Tell me how he is to know that Willis missed on a blind side block? There is a reason they call it the blind side. This kind of thing happens in football, you either recover and try to win the game anyway or surrender to the fact that everytime things don't go your way you will lose. If the defense could have offered up a stop on that long 4th Q. drive, JP would have brought us right back in that game. He took us 77 yards in two minutes and takes it in himself on 4th and 6 from the 12 in a run that would have made Steve Young proud. I can't believe we have to defend JP tonight. Man, if you aren't excited about what this kid can do after watching him throw one missile after another, dead nuts on target, in the rain and wind then you just don't know a good thing when it hits you in the head. I have been a skeptic about JP from day 1 but his performance today was something else. We have lots to work on all over the place but we have the tools on offense to be something special. Price holds on to that TD pass and Willis makes that block and all of a sudden, this board would be a JP love fest 24-7. Was the loss so frustrating that some people forgot everything good they did in this game?

He threw the ball fine. JP was not the problem. Willis fanning on a block on a blind side blitz, that was a problem. Price dropping a TD pass, that was a problem. A defense that allowed a 6 minute drive in the 4th Q. for a TD when we were within a score, that was a problem. JP engineered a 77 yard drive in only two minutes to give us a chance and he did that in 20MPH winds in the rain. Can't throw in the RWS winds???? What game were you watching? As for stats not meaning anything, three turnovers is a stat, isn't it? So is 0-2 in the redzone while the Jets were 2 for 2. 3 for 12 on third down is a stat. The stats, if you look at all of them, tell you exactly what happened in this game. We had too many drives stall around the 35-45 yard line due to a few mistakes and then we had one critical turnover due to a whiffed block. Add in a getting caught with our pants down a few times on defense and that was it. If JP throws the ball as well as he did in this game for the rest of the year, we will win a lot of games.

Nicely done. That rule, no PI behind the LOS, is why defensive lineman can haul down a RB who is trying to slide into position for a screen. That is one of the reasons why it can be very difficult to pull off a decent screen pass, especially a middle screen.

Forget Peter King, lots and lots of folks here at the ol' TSW were highly critical of our draft for the same reasons King and others were. Its early yet but for now, there should be a long line of fans ordering crow for lunch hereabouts.

I have no problem with the play calling in the 4th quarter but I don't buy the notion that we could have scored plenty more points but simply decided against it as a matter of strategy. If we could have, we would have. In fact, for most of the 4th quarter they didn't really pull in the horns but were just not able to move the ball much. Their first series in the 4th was a three and out with passes on second and third down. Their next series in the 4th they went 8 plays and punted and had a few first downs. They also threw the ball or tried to anyway on 4 plays during that "drive". An offsides call on Gandy killed the first drive and a holding call on Reyes killed the second. I have no problem winning ugly, all I'm saying is that the offense needs to improve.

I don't know about the offensive play calling. 83 yards passing and 177 total yards? I don't know that we can count on 7 sacks, a blocked punt and a 50 yard PI call every week. Be nice if it happens. They are gaining on it though. We were on the road afterall so I'm hoping the offense will have a breakthrough game next week at home, finally.

I agree, I was watching the game with my Dad, brother and sister and we are all homers and yet all agreed it was PI. What ticked me off is that it really had no effect on the play at all. That defender was out of the play based on the excellent position Reed had on him. Oh well.

They "accomplished" a loss. Spikes is a good player and a team leader. Nothing he said about TV changes that.

Yeah, at some point you just have to conclude that a guy isn't playing well because he can't play well as opposed to just being too green. Figuring when that point has been reached is why coaches work long hours, have many gray hairs and get the big bucks.